This Month

When the Music Stopped
It is not just musicians who are idled by the Coronavirus. A whole industry of people who support the live music scene are put on the sidelines too, says industry veteran Joelle May.

Our Best of 2019 coverage Starts Here

Mingwa - The Strange One
...a great album that really stretches what world music can be, and seamlessly blends many styles of music.

The Shangs - Golden Hits of the Shangs
...the band had another side gig going on all the while. Starting in 1990, The Shangs were a psychedelic pop off-shoot that sound very little like the main project Simply Saucer.

Alex Cuba Sublime
...a great album that will fit fine into Canadian summers lounging around on the beach.

Stratified clouds of cigarette smoke in a bar are the images invoked by the music here. A smoke filled bar out of the 1960s is the style of venue I would expect to see Light Bulb Alley play. A trio from Montreal, they're heavy on garage rock and lighter on the psych.

The debut album, The Sound of Things has twelve tracks including one Bo Diddley cover. Refreshingly under produced and simple, they state that it was “recorded live in studio”, i.e. no overdubs.

Besides the raw garage sounds of Karlo Sno on the bass and Ockert Greff on drums, Alister Booth (vocals and guitar) sounds so wounded that he brays and bawls through much of the CD. One might imagine Booth not as the singer but as a theatrical character who smoked and drank heavily while fretting over the situations that he sings about. It would explain the vocals. “Bad Day” is the track that sticks with me most. Not a polished gem, but a rough rock which does just that.

Our Best of 2019 coverage Starts Here

Mingwa - The Strange One
...a great album that really stretches what world music can be, and seamlessly blends many styles of music.

The Shangs - Golden Hits of the Shangs
...the band had another side gig going on all the while. Starting in 1990, The Shangs were a psychedelic pop off-shoot that sound very little like the main project Simply Saucer.

Alex Cuba Sublime
...a great album that will fit fine into Canadian summers lounging around on the beach.

Features: March 2020

Our Best of 2019 coverage Starts Here

Mingwa - The Strange One
...a great album that really stretches what world music can be, and seamlessly blends many styles of music.

The Shangs - Golden Hits of the Shangs
...the band had another side gig going on all the while. Starting in 1990, The Shangs were a psychedelic pop off-shoot that sound very little like the main project Simply Saucer.

Alex Cuba Sublime
...a great album that will fit fine into Canadian summers lounging around on the beach.

Features: February 2020

Our Best of 2019 coverage Starts Here

Mingwa - The Strange One
...a great album that really stretches what world music can be, and seamlessly blends many styles of music.

The Shangs - Golden Hits of the Shangs
...the band had another side gig going on all the while. Starting in 1990, The Shangs were a psychedelic pop off-shoot that sound very little like the main project Simply Saucer.

Alex Cuba Sublime
...a great album that will fit fine into Canadian summers lounging around on the beach.

Features: January 2020

Our Best of 2019 coverage Starts Here

Mingwa - The Strange One
...a great album that really stretches what world music can be, and seamlessly blends many styles of music.

The Shangs - Golden Hits of the Shangs
...the band had another side gig going on all the while. Starting in 1990, The Shangs were a psychedelic pop off-shoot that sound very little like the main project Simply Saucer.

Alex Cuba Sublime
...a great album that will fit fine into Canadian summers lounging around on the beach.